Posted on 06/12/2007 11:32:39 PM PDT by HAL9000
BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - An explosion struck a revered Shi'ite Muslim shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra on Wednesday that was badly damaged in February 2006, senior Shi'ite officials and a witness said.The witness said two minarets at the Golden Mosque were damaged in the blast. Last year's attack on the mosque triggered a wave of sectarian violence in Iraq that has killed tens of thousands of people.
(Excerpt) Read more at alertnet.org ...
Iraqi police say famous shrine attacked
BAGHDAD - Insurgents blew up the two minarets of the famous Golden Dome Shiite shrine in Samarra on Wednesday, Iraqi police and a security official said.
The attack occurred around 9 a.m., despite a police presence at the site, officials said. Police in Samarra spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, and a security official in Baghdad confirmed the account on the same condition.
The al-Askari shrine's dome was destroyed in a February 2006 bombing that was blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants. The mosque compound and minarets remained intact, and have been guarded since then by Iraqi police and commandos.
Bad news ... is the mosque still a wreck, was it ever restored?
They say it was being guarded, but I am not surprised that did not work.
Iran’s racheting up the game. They want the Shiites to know they are still there.
Sunna or later, Shi’ite happens!
Vandals!
The less mosques the better.
No, this is very cool. It means that the locals now have super inter jihad-jihad priorities. Could mean the true downfall of al qaida in Iraq. Besides that, there’s one less mosque in the world. Too bad it wasn’t the Dome of the Rock, but that’s fine also, as it’s days are numbered...by god.
This attack was probably done by al-Qaida, and it's likely to cause more trouble for our troops.
Actually, I think that this is the terrorist way...if at first you don’t succeed... All-in-all this will totally backfire and our troops will suddenly aquire unforseen allies. This was an al quaida big time blunder.
If Iraqis had balls, they would stand up and hurry the political process up.
But they are arabs. Lazy people.
Liberals are happy.
They can repeat their slogan of “Iraqi civil war”...
Al-Qaeda/Democrats : the Axis of Evil
“Bad news ... is the mosque still a wreck, was it ever restored?”
I know that Bush promised to restore it after the last attack.
His spending of our money knows no bounds.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6747419.stm
Last Updated: Wednesday, 13 June 2007, 07:19 GMT 08:19 UK
Blast hits key Iraq Shia shrine
Two minarets stood either side of the shrine before the attack
The two minarets of the al-Askari shrine in Iraq, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, have been damaged by two explosions, officials say.
According to witnesses the minarets collapsed completely after being hit by bomb blasts around 0900 (0500 GMT).
The shrine houses one of two tombs in Samarra for revered Shia imams.
The bombing of the dome at the mosque in 2006 is widely believed to have set off a continuing spiral of sectarian violence in which many thousands died.
The BBC’s Jim Muir in Baghdad says there are obvious fears now that this might give it yet further impetus.
The head of the Shia endowment foundation said the minarets had been blown up by “extremists”.
Samarra: Pilgrimage centre
“It is a terrorist attack aimed at sparking sectarian violence,” Sheikh Saleh al-Haidari told the AFP news agency.
A senior government official said it was very bad news for Iraq.
Sources in Samarra said the city had been put under an immediate curfew.
Samarra is mainly a Sunni Muslim stronghold and has been a centre of the armed insurgency against US troops and the Shia-dominated Iraqi administration.
The al-Askari shrine is part of the Imam Ali al-Hadi mausoleum, which contains the remains of the 10th and 11th imams, reputed to be direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
Imam Ali al-Hadi died in 868 AD and his son, Hassan al-Askari, died in 874 AD.
The attack in February last year was widely believed to be the work of Sunni militants from the al-Qaeda movement, some of whom were later arrested.
Our correspondent says there are bound to be questions about how such an obvious and significant target could have been attacked again.
Many thanks for the update. I suppose there will be new pictures soon of the mosque looking utterly wrecked.
Jim Maceda (NBC) in Baghdad said there will be a curfew in the Capitol and that Sadr has called for calm.
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